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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Latinos Brown Skin Becomes The New Face Of D.W..B.

Four police officers from a Connecticut suburb have been accused of abusing
their legal authority to harass, intimidate and deprive Latinos of their rights,
the latest in a series of charges brought by the federal
government against local police departments.

The charges against four
East Haven police officers follow a Justice Department report
last month that found a pattern of discrimination against Latinos and their
supporters.

"We know and understand how difficult police officers' jobs
are and how important they are to a free society," U.S. Atty. David
B. Fein said at a news conference announcing the charges in East Haven. "It is
for their benefit — and society's — that we at the Department of Justice are
ever-vigilant in investigating and prosecuting wrongdoing by those who have
sworn to protect the public."

East Haven police officers Dennis
Spaulding, David Cari and Jason Zullo and Sgt. John Miller were charged with
conspiracy, deprivation of rights and obstruction of justice in a federal
indictment released Tuesday. The three officers worked the 4 p.m. to midnight
shift, often supervised by Miller.

The indictment alleges that the group,
"acting under the color of law did knowingly and willfully conspire and agree
together and with each other ... to injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate
members of the East Haven community in the free exercise and enjoyment of
rights," the indictment said.

"In simple terms, these defendants behaved
like bullies with badges," Janice Fedarcyk, assistant director of the New York
office of the FBI, said at the news conference.